Trainyard
ALTERNATE TITLE: 'Trainyard: The Original Party Engines. This a story of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends based off of Nickelodeon's Barnyard: The Original Party Animals with some changes added. Chapter 1: Hill Surfing It was a beautiful day on the Island of Sodor. Duck the Great Western Engine was taking Sir Topham Hatt back from the Little Western and to Tidmouth Station. Sir Topham Hatt was on Duck's Slip Coaches. He jumped off onto a platform. He walked up to Duck and told him, "Good job, Duck, you are a Really Useful Engine." "You're welcome, Sir," Duck replied. "Okay, now," said Sir Topham Hatt, "I'm just heading to the farm, Duck. I'll be back." On his way to his blue car, he fed coal to his engines at the station, including Toby the Tram Engine. He stepped into his blue car and drove away from the station and was now on the way to Farmer McColl's farm. Everyone watched Sir Topham Hatt drive away from Tidmouth. Even the freight cars were watching him drive off. One of them shouted, "Clear!", and all the engines went to their carefree business. The trucks started to roll off somewhere. "Ah, yeah," said a green mixed-traffic engine, "it's a beautiful day. Well, time to go to work." Then he proceeded to take a mud bath. Gordon the Big Engine puffed into the station with his passengers. "Mornin, Gordon," said Toby, somehow making a rhyme, and he biffed a truck full of clipboards, knocking out the specific clipboard for Gordon. Gordon caught the clipboard. "Thanks, Toby," he said. "Let me know if you see Thomas." Toby, knowing the mischeivous engine Thomas is, said "Oh, I'm staying out of that one." "Okay, meeting's in five minutes," Gordon announced. "I want ''everyone ''present." He saw Duck shunting some Troublesome Trucks who weren't enjoying getting shunted. "Duck, have you seen Thomas?" "Nope," replied Duck, "I haven't seen him. Now, where was I?" As he thought, the trucks tried to get away. "Oh, oh, yeah," said Duck, and went back to shunting the trucks. After all his passengers for Tidmouth got off, he started moving, looked ahead, and wheeshed crossly. "The Arlesdale engines." There were Mike, Rex, and Bert. Rex biffed Mike when he saw Gordon. "Hey, Gordon boy!" said Mike. "Hey," said Rex and Bert. "Hey, have you seen Thomas around?" asked Mike. "Yes, I know exactly where Thomas is," said Gordon, "You boys just steer clear of Thomas, alright?" "Aw, anything you say, Gordon," said Mike. "We'll take a rain check on the meeting, though." "Yeah, rain check," said Rex. "Yeah, that, huh?" said Bert. "Check." The little engines laughed at Bert's pun and all left, and in the process, Mike got some manure on his wheels, and Rex crashed into a fence, but his incident was so minor, that he managed to get himself back on the rails. Gordon saw Ryan pull Annie and Clarabel into the station, since Thomas wasn't around to pull them. Gordon puffed up to the two coaches. "Annie. Clarabel." He sighed. "Thomas?" "Oh, Gordon," said Annie, "don't worry." "We're sure he's heading for the meeting right now," said Clarabel. Meanwhile, Thomas was at a cliff hill, along with Edward the Blue Engine, Henry the Green Engine, James the Red Engine, and Percy the Small Engine. They were struggling to get on a surfboard with a large block of ice taped on the bottom. "Alright, boys," said Thomas, "here's the dealio. It's a little something called 'hill surfing'." Henry helped Percy to get on the surfboard. "Are you sure this is safe, Thomas?" asked Edward. Thomas scoffed. "Edward, come on, safe? Since when isn't surfing safe?" "He's got a point," said Henry. Thomas was planning to surf on the safe part of the hill that doesn't go down the cliff part, but he didn't know his plans were going to get changed. "Okay," said Thomas, "''salt... lick." Henry, in a puzzled mood, gave Thomas a salt lick block. Thomas licked the block. It tasted funny. "It's go time!" "I'll try it, I'm down," said Percy. "Shotgun!" "Piggyback!" chipped in Henry. "Never! You are all ''gonna die," warned Edward. Behind his back, James was sniffing in his cab and smelled a package of cookies. James hadn't eaten all day, and he imagined a cookie with a face and limbs, flat on his back, and had his limbs flopping around in a panic, trying to escape. "James?" said Edward, suspiciously. "Nothing," said James. Thomas was about to put his steam power into the sport, when, he stopped. "Wait a second. Photo op." "Okay, get together!" said Percy as the engines did their poses. A gopher popped out of a nearby hole and took their picture. Percy moved back and ate an apple. "Hey, Percy," said Thomas. "What?" "Where did you get that apple?" "This apple?" said Percy. "Oh, well, it, uh, originally was attached to this." He pulled out an apple branch that was meant to support the surfboard. "Oh..." said Thomas, not liking what was about to happen. The surfboard slowly started to move. "Uh... Thomas?" said Edward. James started freaking out. "What? WHAT? WHAT HAPPENED!??" Percy looked foward, as he started regretting his mistake. "You know it's times like these where I really like to say... 'OH, CACA!'" The surfboard fell down the cliff part, taking the engines with it. "'YOU DIDN'T DO THAAAAAAAAAAT!" screamed Thomas. Thomas and his friends all yelled as they slid down the rocky hill. They spun around and crashed through some bushes. When they came out, Edward was holding a nest of eggs, looking like as if he was saving them, James looked like Davy Crockett with a raccoon hat, Thomas looked like Abraham Lincoln, and Henry looked like a Roman. The raccoon hat on James turned out to be a real raccoon, and started attacking James, and jumped off. Henry was screaming, but then found another apple from the branch. He ate it, and started screaming again. A tree was up ahead in their path. "OK, OK!" said Thomas, "Look, this is bad enough, please! ''No one scream, 'tree'!" They didn't listen to Thomas. ''"TREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Thomas swerved the surfboard away from the tree. Thomas surfed and sailed along down the grassy field. "WHOA-HOA-HOA! Let's surf!" The engines surfed along in trenches and cliffs. "Whoa, hang on now, boys, YEAH! HANG WHEEL!" "Uh, Thomas?" said Percy, "Are we supposed to not yell 'rock'?" "Huh?" said Thomas gasped. The engines surfed straight up a cliff with a rock in their way. They flew into the air after the rock broke the ice cube underneath it. The engines were soaring in the air, with a flock of ducks following them. Meanwhile, an oil derrick gushed heaps of oil, causing two men to celebrate. They stopped when they heard the screaming engines flying in the air. They flew threw the gushing oil, covering them in the oil. The men looked at each other, confused. The screaming oil-covered engines flew threw the air as they slowly descended down, heading for Farmer McColl's chickens. "CHICKEN FAAAAAAAAAAARRM!!!" screamed Thomas. "Oh, I get it," said Percy, "we can't yell 'tree' or 'rock', but you get to yell 'chicken farm'." The engines crashed throrugh the chicken pen... past Farmer McColl and Sir Topham Hatt. Chapter 2: Gopher Underground At Tidmouth Sheds, steam locomotives, diesel locomotives, buses, cars, freight cars, steamrollers, construction vehicles, helicopters, planes, other non-rail vehicles, and animals were all coming to the meeting, hosted by Gordon and Albert the Blue Narrow-Guage engine. "Okay," said Gordon, "before we get started, we have a birthday." "Duke the Lost Engine turned 139 today," said Albert. "Those years must be rough," said Gordon, "No offense, Duke." "None taken," Duke replied, "As everyone says..." "Engines come, and engines go," said Sir Handel and Peter Sam, "Granpuff goes on forever!" "That's right!" said Duke, trying his best not to sound like Ferdinand, who wasn't attending the meeting along with Bash and Dash for a good reason. "Also, remember it's-" Gordon was rudely interrupted by the screaming outside. Thomas and his friends bust into the sheds on the surfboard, covered in chicken feathers stuck onto them from the sticky black oil from the oil derrick. Also, a plucked chicken was with them. The chicken fainted. "Whassup?" said Thomas. Gordon and Albert cleared their throats. As he started talking again, he started cleaning himself off and kicked the surfboard away. "Hey, guys, look, I know you're probably looking for an explanation regarding the, uh... exploded chicken on me, and the sticky black oil- the oil stuff..." Then he started laughing hysterically. "You two ''are gonna LOVE this! I'll tell you the most, Gordon, because you, my friend, are a laugher, and every- didn't we all know that? Right?" "Just take a seat." "I'll uh, I'll take a seat." Percy had a clump of feathers on each side. He used his steam power to flap his "wings", and lifted himself in mid-air. "Cool," he laughed. Thomas moved through the others, and squeezed himself into the audience. As Gordon was announcing free cider at the party tonight, James, Edward, Henry, and Percy were also taking their seats. "Hey, Hey, Percy," said Edward. "Uh, I think there's a dead bee in your nostril." "Oh," Percy said and shot the bee out of his nose. "Well, that's not dead." "OK," said Gordon," first matter at hand: gray market goods, as if we needed to say it again." "The purchase of human articles from the gopher underground is strictly prohibited," said Albert. "HELLO, MOTO!" Gordon, Albert, and all the engines looked at Thomas. Thomas' phone was going off. Thomas slowly lifted it up to answer it. "Hey, Thomas," laughed a gopher on the other line, "Hey, listen, I think your Nikes are-" "Yeah, this... really isn't the best time..." "Hang on a second. Frankie, (the gopher, not the diesel) come here. Frankie, come here. No, I'm not gonna-Come here, I'm not gonna hurt ya. I'm not gonna hurt ya, Frankie come here-'I TOLD YOU NEVER TO DO THAT AGAIN! AS LONG AS I LIVE! SO PUT IT OVER THERE! ...NOW!" As the gopher beat Frankie up, everyone else was watching in more shock. "Sorry about that," said the gopher, "Frankie's out of hand. The Nikes, what's the maker again?" "Yeah," said Thomas, "I really should go, Mr.... Jordan... Air. Wrong number." He let out a fake yawn. "Thank you!" said Percy, taking his phone. Thomas smiled nervously when Gordon and Albert look at him. "Second item," said Gordon. "Lest we remind you, 'this '''is coyote season." Everyone looked at each other and worried. They knew that every coyote season on Sodor, Diesel 10 would take his coyotes to hunt the residents of Sodor down. "These are ruthless and desperate creatures." Then, Albert said, "Rule Number 1: Stay in groups. Rule Number 2: Stay inside the perimeter of the fence at all times. And Number 3:...Be careful out there." "Okay," said Gordon, "let's hit it." Then he let out a long whistle, signaling everyone to leave the meeting. Thomas was trying to leave, too. "And leaving quickly. Walking out. Walking out. Step, step, step wider..." Then, Sir Topham Hatt showed up. "He's scary. Bye!" said Percy. "Okay, Toby," said Thomas, "What do you think?" "I think you're lucky," said Toby, "Most engines only have four buffers, but you're gonna have an extra one right up your..." "Yeah, that's nice. Gordon! Albert! Sir...!" "Sit," they said, so Thomas sat. "I saw you and your friends crashing through Farmer McColl's farm, Thomas," said Sir Topham Hatt. "Yeah, I knew that already," said Gordon. "Anyway, I don't even wanna ''know who was on the other end of that phone. It was the gophers, wasn't it?" "Well, I-" Thomas began. "No, I don't want to know. Was it the gophers?" "Here's-" "No, don't. We don't want to know," said Sir Topham Hatt. "Why do you do this to me? How do you think that makes me look?" "So this... This is about you?" asked Thomas. "Where were you this morning, Thomas?" asked Albert. "I was having a little fun. I mean, you should try it. It starts with a smile, then slowly... builds and-" "You promised to help me with the brush around the fence," said Sir Topham Hatt, "You know it's coyote season." "Geez, coyotes," said Thomas, "I don't get it. What's the big deal? They're coyotes. Them tiny, us big! OK, I know what Diesel 10 is capable of, but what are they gonna do?" "You have a lot to learn to keep being a Really Useful Engine," said Sir Topham Hatt. "And you know what, I don't get the fence thing. Really, it can't keep them out." "That fence defines our space," said Albert, "And as long as I'm still kicking, no animal or human or vehicle will be harmed inside that fence." "Okay, that's what you do," said Thomas "You. Okay, if you're trying to groom me to be the big leader, that's fine, but it's not me, Albert, I mean, if I were in charge, things would be different. Every animal for himself. That's the way it should be." "Thomas," said Sir Topham Hatt, "A strong man stands up for himself. A stronger man stands up for others." "Oh, shoot," said Thomas, "You know what, I forgot my pen." "And your shift tonight?" said Gordon. "I'll be there." "Thomas," said Sir Topham Hatt, "you're gonna have to grow up one day. You'll never be happy if you spend all your time goofing off." "No? Just watch me." Chapter 3: Thomas Goofs Off Later that day, Edward, James, Percy, and Henry were laying in flotation devices in the pond. Edward was in a horsey flotation device, James was in lawn chair, and Henry and Percy were in black rubber dinghies. Thomas was going full steam ahead to the pond. "OooooooOOOOHHHH, TRAINABUNGA!!!" he yelled as he made a big splash in the pond. James got stuck in his lawn chair from the splash. Later, Thomas, Annie, and Clarabel were racing with Trevor the Traction Engine and Bertie the Bus. Thomas and Trevor had two strings attached to them pulling a big parachute in the air with Edward, his pet rooster, and James riding on it. "James," said Edward, "Is this great or what?" "Oh, yeah," James replied, "I could just eat your pet's head ''right off!" "No," said Edward in disgust. "I mean," James laughed, "You know it's fun up here." Later, at the golf field, the engines were going golfing. "Percy?" said Thomas. Percy was putting the ball on the tee. "I'd go with the wood on this one." Thomas broke a large golf-club-shaped branch off of a tree. He aligned the club, and hit the ball across the field. The ball didn't fall into the hole. Thomas, feeling impatient, stamped the ground with his wheels. A gopher popped out of the flaghole, laughed, dug another hole for the ball, and fixed the other hole. "''OOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHH, ''THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKIN' ABOUT, SWEET MAMA!" yelled Thomas. "Hey, there's trains over there!" shouted someone across the field. All the engines scrambled away from the golf course. Later, Sir Topham Hatt was a football game on TV. Thomas and his friends were watching behind him. Thomas, Percy, and Henry were drinking from soda hats, while Henry wore a foam glove. When the Sodor team scored a touchdown, everyone celebrated. Sir Topham Hatt was jumping up and down. Thomas celebrated too much, that he accidentally punched Sir Topham Hatt's window and broke it. The engines hid out of sight before Sir Topham Hatt and anyone else could see them. "Darn kids," said Sir Topham Hatt. Later, Thomas was teasing the mailman that was substituting for Tom Tipper. His friends were laughing in a nearby bush as Thomas started following him to the mail van. Later that day, Henry had pig cars and Thomas had cow cars. Henry was eating corn as Percy was there watching Alicia the mouse jump on one animal each back and forth on the engines' cars. "Bacon! Hamburger! Chorizo! Filet!" "What are you doing?" asked Thomas. "I'm naming the kinds of cuts of meat to the animal Alicia is jumping on," explained Percy. "Machaka! Pork chop!" Alicia then jumped on a cow twice. "Rump! Roast!" Thomas sighed. "You know what? You don't need to be doing this." "Tommy Tommy!" said a little girl's voice. Thomas looked around. "Tommy Tommy!" The voice came from Maddie the chick. "Hi, Tommy!" She climbed on Thomas' buffers. "Hey, Maddie," said Thomas, "looking good over there." "Chubba Face, you crazy choo-choo train," said Maddie, and she jumped on Thomas' face. "Say 'I'm smooshy'." Maddie pulled down Thomas' lip. "I am smooshy," said Thomas in a funny voice. The two laughed. "OK. Now you. Say, 'Boy, is it windy'," then he stretched her beak across. "Boy, is it windy," said Maddie, then the two laughed again. Then, Thomas saw Lady the Magical Engine and Mavis the Quarry Diesel. "Okay, chick," said Thomas, "just run along now." "Bye, Tommy," said Maddie. Thomas hit his head on the fence as he moved closer. He looked at Lady as the cow cars were being uncoupled from him. "Hey," Thomas told Percy, "Lady's back." "I know, right?" said Percy. "Sir Topham Hatt brought her back. Mavis helped." "Thank you, sir and Mavis!" sang Thomas. "Something happened to her friends," said Percy, "Mavis saved her." "Hm." said Thomas. "She needs a friend." And he puffed off, as Percy struggled to stop him. "Excuse me, I couldn't help but notice you over there-" He stopped and gasped when he noticed a bulge in Lady's boiler. "Whoa! Hey! Look at you, you're all..." "Pregnant?" said Lady. "Uh, yeah, sure," said Thomas, "I mean...Really? 'Cause, I mean, it isn't that noticeable, you know. I mean, especially when you stand straight on, and you don't look at it. You know, when you turn to the side, it gets a little lumpy. I mean glowy. Glowy. It's a glow. It's just nice to see you again, Lady." Mavis was coupled to Lady, so she pulled her back. "Back off, Lady. There is an 'L' on that boy's forehead." "No, that's just my pet Alicia, the contortion mouse," said Percy, trying to impress himself in front of Mavis. "C! X! N! Q!" said Thomas, making Alicia contort herself into different alphabetical letters. "Are you trying to kill Alicia?" said Percy. "Sorry," apologized Thomas. "Look, I just wanted to welcome you back to Sodor," Thomas told Lady. "I'm sure that you..." Mavis pulled up foward. "Not looking! The key word: 'not'. Work with me. Not ''looking." "Well, Mavis is usually a cupcake," Thomas said." Mavis drove off with Lady following her. "It was nice to meet you, Thomas," said Lady. "Yeah, you too!" Thomas replied. "You know what? Switch those. Oh boy." "Well," said Percy, "at least you still have Lady, and I kinda like Mavis." Then he cried out like a Mexican as he and Thomas puffed away. Chapter 4: Party Engines That night, Thomas and Percy were outside, spying on Sir Topham Hatt. They watched as Sir Topham Hatt turned off the lights, and left with Gordon and Albert on their campout. "He's gone," said Percy, signaling Thomas to peep his whistle loudly to Henry in Tidmouth Sheds. "Ha! All clear!" said Henry. "SWEET!" He pulled a rope down, revealing the moonlight. Two dogs started reflecting it with a washtub. The Barn Boys were there, and the horse member started singing. '''Horse' Now every engine, every cow Hold tight to your udders, now Fat Controller is beddin' down Let's turn these sheds into Funky Town Duke was also in the band, playing the banjo, thinking "Nice way to celebrate my birthday!" Chickens to the left, dance with your neighbor Edward pushed a heavy sack to lift the stage up. Hogs, don't slobber on the pool table Try to go easy on the manure It's a dance floor, not a sewer Little piglets struggled as they shot plungers with lights hanging off of them for them to stick to the wall. '''Salty and Boar''' Here we go, do-si-do Here we go, do-si-do "Put this thing on hot!" said the horse. James was wiring the wires, and electrocutes himself as he starts the wild party. Barn Boys Better hold on tight when we go hitting the hay The sheds open, letting the party guests in. You better hold on tight and pray The drink bar opens. You better hold on tight when we go hitting the hay A couple of cows were reading magazines as they were being milked. The bees were also being harvested for their honey. Darling, better run'', 'cause I won't hold back them horses The freight cars go into a secret compartment for their own space. Hittin' the hay We'll go hitting the hay An engine is riding on a mechanical human ride, and falls off. We will rumble and tumble, night and day Salty Here we go! Barn Boys Hittin' the hay Boar Hit that hay! The engines set up the pool table, hitting a pig. Barn Boys We'll go hittin' the hay Boar Hit it! Hit it! Barn Boys With our backsides shakin' Boar Backsides shakin' Barn Boys We'll go hittin the hay A skunk rolls the dice on a table. Ding-dang-a-dinga-ding-dang A-ding-ding-dang-a-ding-a-ding-dang Cat Here we go again Come grab your friend Shake him up, shake him down Try to get a good blend Salty and Boar Here we go, do-si-do Here we go Cat OW! Murdoch was teaching the chickens to play a dart throw game with the target as KFC's Colonel Sanders. Cat First you hold him tight Salty and Boar Hold him tight Cat Then you dance all night Salty and Boar Dance all night Cat Then you lay-di-lay Tons of darts hit the target. Cat, Salty, and Boar Hit the hay Duck is playing poker with a bunch of dogs as Percy paints a painting of the game as Duck wins. Barn Boys Better hold on tight when we go hittin' the hay You better hold on tight and pray A chicken runs off the pool table after laying an egg on it. Hurricane hits it, and egg splatters everywhere. You better hold on tight when we go hittin' the hay Darlin', better run, 'cause I won't hold back them horses Hittin' the hay We'll go hittin' the hay Boar We will rumble and tumble night and day Barn Boys Hittin' the hay We'll go hittin' the hay With our backsides shakin' We'll go hittin' the hay Mavis and Lady went into the party in Tidmouth Sheds. They looked around. "Wow," said Lady, looking at the interior, "this is amazing!" Mavis drove up and swiped two chairs from two bulls. "What you lookin' at?" she said. "Oh, you want some of this? Oh, yeah, I didn't think so. Sit right here, honey." "The flowers are beautiful," said Lady. Lady and Mavis hadn't eaten all night, and they were starving so much, they ate the flowers. Meanwhile, Gordon, Albert, and Sir Topham Hatt were miles away from the sheds with a jar of fireflies. Then, Thomas showed up. "See? On time. Just like I sa-" Thomas derails himself painfully on a rock. "Right," said Gordon. "Cramp!" cried Thomas, "That's a cramp! Oh, it's cramping! Oohh. OOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHH! And release." "Hello, Thomas," said Gordon. "Guys," said Thomas, "I've been thinking, and I'm willing to accept your apology." "Really?" said the three. "Sure, I mean, it's only right Sure. I mean, it's only right. I mean...Okay. I don't mean to let you down. I'm just out trying to have some fun. "It's a beautiful night," said Sir Topham Hatt. "I remember when I used to sit out here with your sister." "I don't have a sister," said Thomas. "Oh, yeah, that was you, wasn't it?" "Thank you, all right?" said Thomas, "...So, we OK?" "We're OK," said Albert. "Great," Thomas said, and started looking at the firefly jar. "See, 'cause I wanted to ask you something. My friends are all going to the sheds tonight, and not that it matters either way to me, but evidently, I'm needed. I'm a sort of an integral part of a musical number. Yeah, I tried to tell them no, you know? But they were just so...I told them, 'Sir Topham Hatt's not gonna wanna cover my shift. 'I mean, it's my shift, not theirs. It isn't theirs!' You know? 'I don't want to be selfish. What's mine is mine, and...' What do you think?" Sir Topham Hatt and Gordon took the firefly jar back from Thomas. "Thomas," said Sir Topham Hatt, "I never thought I was gonna amount to much. I certainly didn't think I'd be in charge of anything. But that all changed one day. It was the day you showed up. I headed out into the yard and I see this little tank engine with six small wheels, a short, stumpy funnel, a short, stumpy boiler, and a short stumpy dome. You know,before you became a nightmare. Well, I took you home that night, and I know it doesn't sound possible, but I looked up into the sky and I would have swore I saw the stars dance. At that moment, I knew my place was here, taking care of things. I guess you helped me realize that. I love you, Thomas. You are a Really Useful Engine. ...You still want to go, don't you?" "Yeah, I really do," said Thomas, as he started leaving, "Not that your stuff... You know, the stuff you're saying isn't nifty and everything..." "No one says 'nifty'," said Gordon. "I say 'nifty.' I do, and sometimes even "swifty." I'll say that." "Very impressive." "Go ahead, you three have fun. I'll cover your shift. Thank you, Sir, you're the best." "Thomas?" said Sir Topham Hatt. "Yeah? "Be the stronger man." "Yeah. Yeah, that's that saying thing, right? 'A strong man stands up for himself, a stronger man can bridge the gap between...' Got it locked in the vault." Then, Thomas came across the rock that he tripped over, and dodges it. "See? I learn." "You're so smart, little Thomas," said Gordon. After Thomas left to the party at Tidmouth Sheds, Gordon, Albert, and Sir Topham Hatt heard some howling and diesel horns and looked out into the meadow, crossly. Chapter 5: Pizza Back at the party at Tidmouth Sheds, the Barn Boys were playing another song, with their guest: a fat mouse rapper named Biggie Cheese that sounded like the rapper Shaggy. "Mr. Boombastic!" said Biggie, "What you want is a bombastic, romantic, fantastic lover." Then, he started singing the Mr. Bombastic song, after a while, Thomas bust into the sheds, and lip-synced Biggie's "smooth." "Who's here? Choo-choo," said Thomas, "It's me, choo-choo. Whazzup? Aaahh, milk me!" He took a bottle of milk from a platter and started drinking. He started puffing up to Lady and Mavis, saying, "My sheds, that's right, my sheds," then crashed into a horse carrying trays. He managed to get himself back up. Then, Murdoch the Goods Engine showed up, and dragged Thomas off. "You're late. Come on!" "He's a real winner, that one," said Mavis. "I think he's kinda cute," said Lady, as Biggie Cheese finished his song. Murdoch then puffed onto the stage as Biggie Cheese was leaving. "Give it up for the one and only, Biggie Cheese!" said Murdoch. "We're gonna have some fun tonight, ya'll." Then, he saw a horse with his feet on the stage. "Hey, Buck!" he said, "Get your hooves off the table! You ain't in the show business!" Everyone laughed at Murdoch's joke, even Buck the Horse. "What?" said Murdoch, "Were you raised in a barn?" Everyone laughed harder. Buck laughed too much, and crashed down. "Well, you're a good horse," said Murdoch, "Okay..." Murdoch looked in the audience. "What you lookin' at, turkey?" he said to a group of literal turkeys. "Someone pass me the cranberry sauce," said Murdoch, scaring the turkeys even more. "Dead turkey walkin'. We're all gonna die, but we don't know the date. We know your date. Thanksgiving!" Then the turkeys started laughing along with everyone else. "Okay," said Murdoch, "to kick things off tonight, I got a special treat. Back by popular demand." He turned to Lady and Mavis. "Ladies, this one's for you. Our own, Thomas and the Really Useful Crew!" The cat and sheepdog members of the Barn Boys watch the mice jump around on the piano, and the disco anvil lowers as Thomas starts going down the stairs wearing a hat and a bowtie Thomas Well, down '' ''By the sheds Where they all ask for you Thomas slid down the railing backwards. Meanwhile, Elizabeth the Vintage Sentinel Lorry was in her she, spying on Tidmouth Sheds with her binoculars with Bulstrode the Barge beside her. "Parties all hours of the night," she grumbled. "What is that Sir Topham Hatt up to? He knows I was her first truck. You know what? We should call someone." "Aw, leave him be," grumbled Bulstrode. "I am," said Elizabeth, "But, I'll just call whoever I want, whenever I want to. That's exactly what I'll do. Because I ''know what a rave is, Mr. Lump. Mr. 'I'm Going to Sit and Watch TV and Be a Lump'," Elizabeth grumpily teased. "Okay. Mr. Lumpy. It's just not right." Meanwhile, two strange shadowy figures on wheels with sirens approached through Tidmouth and to the sheds. '''Thomas' Well, they all Ask for you They all ask for you The Wise Old Owl saw the siren figures approach, and alarmed, "Hoo! Hoo!", but everyone inside didn't listen as Thomas and his friends were finishing the musical number. Thomas Down by the sheds They all ask for yoooooooooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu! As Thomas hit the long note at the end, he and Percy threw their hats at Lady and Mavis. The figures moved more to Tidmouth Sheds. "Hooooooooo! Hooooooooooooo!" said the Wise Old Owl louder, but no one was listening. They were too busy having fun and applauding Thomas' performance. "HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" ''shouted the owl in a deep voice, finally getting everyone's attention. They turned around to the doors. They heard loud knocking, causing them to gasp. Thomas looked around nervously. "I'll check it!" said Percy, swinging to a window on the lights like Tarzan. He wiped the windows to get a better look. The shadowy figures were Bill and Ben the Twin Tank Engines with the pizza everyone ordered. "It's all right, calm down! It's just Bill and Ben with the pizza." "I'm on it," said Thomas, taking off his bowtie. He chuffs to the door as Henry took the fake arms to help them hold the pizza boxes. "Watch out," said Henry, "I got it, I got it. Pizza, pizza, pizza, pizza, pizza, pizza, pizza." Bill was knocking on the door, waiting for someone to show up. Thomas opened the door with his fake arm, with the second arm helped by Henry. "Whoa," said Bill, surprised. Thomas and Henry's fake arms were holding money. Bill took the money, and said, "Uh, thanks. You want change?" "No, keep it," said Thomas. Thomas and Henry moved back with the fake arms as Bill grabbed the pizzas. "So, you really ordered a lot of pizzas, huh?" "Well, yes," Thomas told Bill, "We're just having a big engine party. Just a party. A big one, with us celebrating our... engineness." "Dude, I love parties, and I'm an engine, too!" said Bill. "Can I-?" Bill moved in closer on Thomas. "No thanks!" said Thomas as Henry struggled to hold his fake arm. Thomas knew that Bill and Ben were troublemakers. "Okay," said Bill, "Well, then, I'll... I'll see ya!" Henry was exclaiming as he dropped his fake arm out the door. Bill turned back when he saw the arm. He gasps and lets out a long quiet scream. "Ouch!" said Thomas. "Uh... My arm fell off. Uh, my fake arm, I mean." "Wow," said Bill picking up the fake arm. "I am ''so ''sorry about that. Do you need any help?" "No, thanks," said Thomas again. "Oh," said Bill. "Cool. What about this?" "You can keep it, it's dirty now." "Really? Alright." Bill puffed to his twin brother, Ben. "''DUDE, I GOT A ARM!" (NO, THIS IS NOT A GRAMMATICAL ERROR, THIS IS HOW HE ACTUALLY SAID IT.) "Ya, righteous!" said Ben, and imitated a guitar riff. Thomas and Henry watched as Bill and Ben turned their sirens back on and drove off back to the quarry. Chapter 6: Coyotes! Gordon, Albert, and Sir Topham Hatt were still at their coyote watchout campout. "You know," said Sir Topham Hatt, "I'm afraid of coyotes. I should be heading home and in bed. What do you think." "Be my guest," said Albert. Gordon agreed with him, and Sir Topham Hatt drove back home in his blue car. Gordon and Albert were by themselves at the campout. They picked up their guitars and started playing and singing a duet song cover of Tom Petty's I Won't Back Down. Gordon Well, I won't back down Albert No, I won't back down Both You can stand me up At the gates of heck But I won't back down Gordon Gonna stand my ground Albert Won't be turned around Gordon And I'll keep this world '' ''From dragging me down Both Gonna stand my ground Meanwhile, far from the campout, Diesel 10 was leading his pack of coyotes and Splatter and Dodge (Splodge) to the farm with the henhouse located next to the carriage sheds where Annie and Clarabel were sleeping in with their coach friends, both standard gauge, and narrow gauge. The villains stepped through the mud as they snuck around the two buildings. Splatter and Dodge waited at the carriage shed to get the coaches intimidated while Diesel 10 snuck in the henhouse. All the chickens started to wake up. The chicken in front of Diesel 10 freaking out got grabbed by his claw, Pinchy. "Sssssshhhhhhhshshshshushshshshushshush," Diesel 10 shushed the hen as all the coaches woke up and got intimidated by the three diesels and the coyotes, indeed. "Good evening ladies," Diesel 10 said as half the coyote pack circled around the coaches, and the other half looked at all the chickens. "Sorry to call you so late in the evening, but we did have a previous engagement." He held up a chain of chicken feet in front of the chickens. "Now, we're going to take six of you chickens, and five of you coaches, anyone makes a sound, we don't mind the extra company. Boys," he said to all the coyotes and Splatter and Dodge. "take your pick." "Righty-o, boss," said Splatter and Dodge. "You won't be taking any of us tonight," Annie and Clarabel told Diesel 10. Diesel 10 lunged at Annie and Clarabel, snarling as Pinchy snapped at them. "And you're gonna stop us? Hmm? Is that's what's gonna happen? Are you gonna stop us? How are you gonna do that?" He roared in laughter. "No," said Annie and Clarabel. "they are." Diesel 10 looked back and growled. He saw Gordon and Albert and was surprised. "Gordon? Albert? How are you two? We would've said hello, had we seen you." "Put the hen down, Diesel," said Gordon, referring Diesel 10 to the black diesel shunter's name again. "Sure, Gordon. Whatever you say. We're just doing a little courting, that's all. You know how much we like the hens." Diesel 10 laughed as he put the hen back. "You know me. Ladykiller. You have us at a bit of a disadvantage here. There's eight of us, and two of you fat engines." There was silence. Gordon and Albert took out their guitars and started playing Tom Petty's music again. The villains starting moving towards Gordon and Albert. A coyote leaped at Gordon, and he hit him with a piece of wood. Albert threw hay into the faces of the coyotes and Splatter and Dodge. Gordon jumped down onto a loose floorboard, hitting one of the coyotes. Then, he kicked a wooden tray of corn at two of the coyotes. One of the coyotes charged at Gordon, and he hit him with his guitar like Quick Draw McGraw as El Kabong. Diesel 10 slowly backed up, and rammed Albert out the door. Splatter, Dodge, and the coyotes followed him. Meanwhile, at Tidmouth Sheds, everyone was dancing as the Barn Boys were playing 2StepN by the North Mississippi Allstars. Henry was onstage too, and he leaped into the crowd. He was yelling in excitement was he was crowd surfing. Thomas, who was on stage too, decided to crowd surf, too. He lept up into the air. The characters below him screamed before Thomas fell on them instead of crowd surfing. Luckily, no one was hurt. But back at the carriage sheds and the henhouse, Albert was being hurt. Gordon roared as he ripped the coyotes off of Albert's body. Diesel 10 snuck around Gordon as Gordon was fighting the coyotes and Splatter and Dodge. Then, he biffed Gordon out of the way. Albert was in Gordon's way and got derailed. Pinchy took a bite out of Albert, and his minions started attacking Albert again. Diesel 10 tried to get Albert again, but Gordon grabbed him by Pinchy and hit his minions until they got off of Albert. He threw the last coyote into the henhouse, breaking it a bit. Gordon glared at Splatter, Dodge, and all the coyotes as he was still holding Diesel 10. He choked him as he pinned him up to a tree. Gordon was about to punch him, but instead, hit him even harder on the tree, and dropped him. The three diesels and the coyotes ran off, crying. Gordon, the coaches, and hens celebrated, but when Gordon turned around, everyone screamed. There was Albert, with his wheels torn off, his funnel dented severely, his bufferbeams broken, and his body completely mangled. Albert could barely breathe. Annie and Clarabel had to tell Thomas about this, so Gordon coupled up to them, and he raced to Tidmouth Sheds as Albert started to slowly rust in the rain. "Out of the way, out of the way!" Gordon shouted in Tidmouth Sheds. "Thomas!" said Annie and Clarabel numerous times. Gordon impatiently got some of Thomas' party guests out of the way. Thomas picked himself up off the floor. "Thomas," said Gordon, "your coaches have something to tell you!" Thomas smile dropped a tiny bit. "It's Albert..." Annie and Clarabel said in tears, making Thomas' smile fade faster. Duke wasn't happy to hear the news either. Thomas and Duke bust out of the sheds, and raced to Albert's rusty motionless body as the rain slowly left with the moon shining. "Oh no," the two engines said. "No, no." Thomas and Duke looked at Albert. Albert slowly opened his eyes and looked back at them. He was about to say something, but then died. Thomas and Duke sadly hugged Albert's body. Chapter 7: It's Albert... The next morning, at the Skarloey Railway, Sir Topham Hatt and Mr. Percival were patting Albert's grave. Sir Topham Hatt got into his car, Mr. Percival got onto his bike, and they both left sadly. Moments later, the engines came to Albert's grave. Henry and Duck were with Lady and Mavis. Percy was sadly shunting Annie and Clarabel. Lady was holding some flowers. She handed them to Annie and Clarabel for them to place it on the grave. Edward and Toby hung their heads down with everyone else. Meanwhile, Thomas, Duke, Skarloey, Rheneas, Sir Handel, Peter Sam, Rusty, and Duncan were sitting sadly at Albert's favorite spot. Thomas was watching a small spider swing hanging on its string from a blade of grass, blowing in the breeze. "Yeah. You hang on there, buddy," Thomas said to the spider. Thomas and Duke looked at the bridge. They thought of the time when Duke was with Albert on the bridge, watching Thomas and Sir Topham Hatt go fishing. Meanwhile, a meeting was being hold at Tidmouth Sheds. "What are we gonna do, then?" said Murdoch. "Who's gonna protect us from the coyotes?" Then, he tried to make the mood funny. "Anybody got a pistol?" But it didn't work. "Order, here!" announced Duck, "Hey, am I bothering you? Let's get this meeting started." "Duck, who's gonna run the meeting?" asked Edward. "That's what the meeting's about." "The meeting's about finding someone to run the meeting?!" said James, "Is that a good idea?" "We should take a meeting about it," suggested Percy. "Someone has to do this," said Duck, "We don't have Albert. Therefore, I would like to nominate myself." Everyone groaned. "Listen to me, Great Western Engines, are watchful, they're loyal, and very protective." "And they cover themselves in mud," finished Percy, "I don't want a muddy leader." Everyone started talking at once. "Me neither," said Edward. "That's nasty," said Percy. "Disgraceful!" said Gordon. "Disgusting!" said James. "Despicable," said Henry, "but I can't remember the last time I did it." "I don't do that," said Duck, silencing everyone in an instant. "...Anymore. One time, I was bored, lonely, and the hot sun was bothering me." "I saw you drink saltwater once," said Henry. "Hey! You drink saltwater!" Then, Edward, Gordon, James, and Percy, joined in Henry's teasing sing-along. "You drink saltwater!" "My water tower was empty, my friend," said Duck, "Come on, we're getting off track here." Toby cleared his throat and everyone looked at him. "Duck," he said, "with all respect, I think there are certain traits that would make you unqualified to be leader." "Yeah," said Duck crossly, "such as?" "Well, first off, you force people to do everything the Great Western Way, you were wrong a few times, and also..." Toby took a Troublesome Truck, and pushed it, letting it slowly roll. The Troublesome Truck started teasing and laughing at Duck. Duck was getting ticked off. "Shut up!" he ordered, and biffed the truck. The truck rolled to Toby. "Your point?" Duck said to Toby. Duck looked at the audience. "Hey, come on, I do that because they're mean to us all, not because I have anger issues, come on!" Toby shunted the truck into the same wall again. Duck tried to ignore the truck's teasing, but then biffed it hard again. "So, big deal, sometimes ''I do things the wrong way, and I have anger issues against trucks." Then, Toby took out a jar of peanut butter, scooped some out, and Duck ate the entire spoonful. After a while of eating the peanut butter, he said to Toby through a mouth of peanut butter, "This... doesn't... mean... anything." Duck swallowed the peanut butter as he got back on the stage. "Alright, alright, let's take a vote. Let's take a vote here, all those in favor of me being the new leader." Despite putting up with Duck's wrong ways, Oliver and Toad held up signs, voting for Duck. "Those opposed?" asked Duck, looking around crossly. Everyone else held up their hands. "Can you see Alicia's hand?" asked Percy. "Listen now, listen up," said Duke. "You all know that Albert always intended for Thomas to take his place." "Alright!" said Henry, derailing Duck, "Thomas is in charge! I second that motion! SWEET!" Everyone, especially the Narrow Gauge engines, celebrated over Thomas' leadership. "Mm-mm-mm," said Toby, "Here we go." Meanwhile, Annie and Clarabel were babysitting the baby chicks. Maddie was playing tag, and was moving away from Annie and Clarabel. "Maddie," said Annie, "we don't want to lose you." Maddie and all the chicks moved out of the way as Thomas sadly coupled up to Annie and Clarabel. The chicks climbed ontop of Annie and Clarabel while Maddie climbed onto Thomas. "Tommy, Tommy! Hey, Tommy!" said Maddie, carefully climbing across Thomas as he puffed sadly and slowly to Tidmouth Sheds, to grieve over Albert even more. Maddie started swinging on Thomas' buffer. "Hey, Maddie," said Thomas, "now really isn't a good... What are you doing? Would you stop?" The other chicks started tickling Thomas. "Come on," laughed Thomas, as he was arriving at Tidmouth Sheds. "Hey, hey, hey, guys, guys..." "Oh!" said Annie in surprise. "Goodness gracious!" said Clarabel, also in surprise. "Huh?" said Thomas. He took a good look at Tidmouth Sheds and was horrified. Everyone was going crazy. Some dogs were chasing a cat rolling around on a wheel. He saw Derek the Diesel launch a chicken. Percy showed up. "Thomas," he said as turtles float behind him wear, "it's a madhouse! Isn't it just great?!" A flying soccer ball hit Thomas, making Percy laugh. "You got hit with a soccer ball." Thomas looked at Tidmouth Sheds with everyone doing crazy things on it. Chapter 8: Wild Mike Another party was going on inside Tidmouth Sheds, and it was crazier. The Lord of the Hoofs and his dancing horse troupe were dancing on stage. James was laying down underneath the running faucet of the "Milk and Honey" barrel with his mouth open. He got up, to sing and dance. '''James' Doyee-ta-tee-da-diddly-ta-da James backed up too much while dancing, and fell. "WAAAAH-Oof!" he screamed and hit his jaw full of milk/honey as he fell to the ground. Thomas looked around the place. Toby showed up. "I thought I'd be the first to congratulate you, Thomas. You're in charge." "I'm what?! Whoa, whoa, whoa,'' Toby''! I am not in charge, okay? I don't do... 'In charge'! This is not my responsibility." "I hear you," said Toby, "But you were elected fair and square, no pun intended. (Toby has a square face) Congratulations, boss." Thomas looked around for a while, then shouted, "HEY!!!" The music stopped, then The Lord of the Hoof ran off, crying. "Have you all lost your mind?!" Thomas said to everyone. "It's daylight! Sir Topham Hatt's gonna be back! This is SO! OFF-! LIMITS!!!!" "Come on, Thomas," said James, who fell off the table again. "I know... your weak spot..." he laughed. "WILD MIKE!" "What?" said Thomas, quietly. James started a chant for everyone else. "Wild Mike." "Wild Mike. Wild Mike. Wild Mike." As everyone was still chanting, Thomas said, "There's no way this is happening. Everybody, just get back to your... Return to your designated quadrants." As everyone chanted "Wild Mike!" faster and louder, the horse, cat, and dog members of the Barn Boys, started whistling Offenbach's Infernal Galop (or Can-Can) and a workman pushed a cart with a crate on it to the stage. "This is ridiculous!" said Thomas. "I'm not gonna dance just because you're getting Wild Mike. Percy, help me out here." "You can't fight it, Thomas," said Percy. "You're a born party animál." Thomas looked as everyone chanted louder and faster as the workman dropped the crate on the stage, and left. The crate started shaking very fast as Thomas tried to resist the temptation. After a while, Wild Mike the brown hairball with limbs breaks out of his cage. Thomas gave in. "Leeeeeeet's BOOGIE!" Thomas puffed up to Wild Mike, and scatted as he danced with him. Barn Boys We're heading for the West Not heading for the East Soon, the party guests came again, along with Lady and Mavis. We're gonna live our dream Cause we're wild and free'' Mavis was surprised when she saw Wild Mike. "Look at that freaky thing," she said. "What kind of animal is that?" asked Lady. "I don't know," said Thomas, "but he sure can dance!" After a few seconds, the band stopped playing music, and Wild Mike fainted. Thomas, then all the engines copied him. This was too much for Mavis. "I say, let's kill it. Hand me that piece of wood over there." The music started back up, then after a while, Wild Mike and everyone started dancing again. "Sweet legs!" said Thomas, copying Wild Mike's dance moves. "I got the sweet legs! I got the sweet legs! Yahoo!" The music started to pick up tempo, and everyone danced faster until the song ends when Wild Mike jumped back into his crate. Everyone, including Thomas, celebrated, clapped, and cheered for the musical number. Sir Topham Hatt was walking by with a parachute turtle floating down behind him. He was surprised when he looked at the engines celebrating. Everyone turned around in shock and horror when they saw him. Thomas noticed everyone stopped, and "whoo-hoo"ed even slower as he turned around. He stopped when he saw Sir Topham Hatt. "Uh... Choo-choo?" Still in a state of shock, Sir Topham Hatt picked up his phone and attempted to dial 9-1-1, but Toby knocked him unconscious with a metal baseball bat before he could finish dialing. "WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR?" cried Thomas. "What else was I gonna do?" said Toby, "He saw you." "You could've killed him!" After Percy heard Thomas, he was worried about Sir Topham Hatt. He pulled Sir Topham Hatt's sleeve up, and placed Alicia on it. Sir Topham Hatt's heart was still beating, and the beat bounced Alicia up and down. "We got a pulse!" said Percy. But Thomas was still worried. "Oh, this is bad. This is bad. Oh, this is so '''BAD." "Ba-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-ad!" said a nearby flock of sheep. Henry started panicking. "EVERYBODY! JUST CALM DOWN!" He picked up James. "JUST! CALM DOWN, ALRIGHT?! WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO?! WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO?!" Everyone turned to Thomas. "What?" "Come on," said Percy. "You're our leader. Lead us." "That does not apply to this," said Thomas, "This is a totally, situationally different suspect. Hey, whoa, no." "Ohh, we gotta ditch the body," James groaned. "Stop it!" Thomas ordered. "He knows too much. We gotta take care of him. We gotta'' whack'' him." "There will be NO... WHACKING. Okay? Sir Topham Hatt's a good guy, he's been good to us." "That's right," said Toby. "He might not be a vegan, but he should still be blessed." "And uh... What is a vegan again?" asked Henry. "Oh, I know this one," said James. "No, I got this," said Percy, "It means you can't eat anything with a face." "No, no, no, that's a vegetarian," said Edward. "Oh," said Percy. "But vegetarians have to eat in the dark, right?" "That's a vampire," said Gordon, "Come on!" "Oh. So you can't eat cheese?" "It's not just cheese," said Mavis, "vegans can't have any dairy products." As they were talking, Thomas was watching Sir Topham Hatt as he got back up. "Cake?" asked Edward. "Cake has egg products," Duck pointed out. "But you can't have any dairy," Percy said, pointing out the fact that cake also has dairy products. "What?" said James, worrying again, as Thomas stammered. "No dairy? I love dairy! DOES THAT MEAN I CAN'T BE A VEGAN?!" "I love the smell of engine scrap bacon," said Henry, "there, I said it." Sir Topham Hatt fully regained conciousness as he got back up on his feet, making all the engines gasp again. Sir Topham Hatt looked around in more horror. Toby hit him again, knocking him out again. "WOULD YOU NOT DO THAT?!" shouted Thomas. "It's not like we have a lot of options," explained Toby. "Boy," said Percy, placing Alicia on Sir Topham Hatt's body again. "That's a doozy. That thing's bigger than Alica!" "Make her push it," said Henry. "He wakes up, you got her back, right?" "Yeah." Thomas and Toby looked at each other. Chapter 9: Uh-Oh Later that day, engines 1-6 were pulling Sir Topham Hatt's unconscious body to a tree. "Okay, watch this," said Percy, preparing to have Alicia do another mouse trick, "Off his nose, on the belly, on the floor, check it." Alicia jumped off of Percy's bufferbeam, and jumps off of Sir Topham Hatt's nose, bounces off his belly, and lands on the ground. The engine drivers hopped out of their engines. James' driver handed Thomas' driver Sir Topham Hatt's hat. Thomas' driver placed the hat on Sir Topham Hatt. "Book," said Thomas' driver, then Henry's driver handed him the Toby the Tram Engine Railway Series book. Then, Thomas' driver opened it and placed it on Sir Topham Hatt. As the drivers got back in, the engines looked at Sir Topham Hatt. He had his head tilted right, and on his left side, there was his hat, there was the book, his hand was twitching, and he was missing a shoe. "Okay, now," said Thomas, "He was sitting here. he was reading. Something fell on his head, and..." "I got it!" said Percy as he grabbed an apple, and threw it at Sir Topham Hatt. "Uh-uh," said Thomas, "Too light. Couldn't cause a bump like that." "I bet it could," said James, and threw it at Sir Topham Hatt so hard, Sir Topham Hatt's body, his hat, and his book jumped up. "WILL YOU CUT IT OUT?!" said Thomas crossly. "We- We need something bigger." "Uh, can I have the apple back?" asked Percy, then he bounced it off Sir Topham Hatt and caught it. Thomas looked at him. "What's with the look?" Percy asked, and ate the apple. Thomas looked up. He jumped up to rip a big branch off of the apple tree, and placed it on the left side of Sir Topham Hatt along with everything else. Thomas' friends followed Thomas as they hid. A while later, Sir Topham Hatt woke up again. The engines watched as Sir Topham Hatt noticed the book he was "reading", and noticed the big branch. "He's buyin' it," said James. Sir Topham Hatt looked to the right, scratching his head. "He's not buyin' it." Sir Topham Hatt looked down at the book. James gasped. "He's buyin' it. ...OOH! He's not buyin' it-" Thomas covered his mouth. "No," said Thomas, "He's buyin' it." As Sir Topham Hatt was reading his book, he noticed his shoe was missing. Thomas was more confused than worried, then his worry grew over his confusion when he looked back and saw Sir Topham Hatt's shoe across the yard. Sir Topham Hatt also found his shoe. He got up, looking cross, and marched towards his shoe. The engines tried to hide from him, when Toby the seventh engine hit Sir Topham Hatt with his bat again. Thomas was at his wit's end. "Will you? STOP? DOING? That?" "Well, unless you get him a blindfold..." said Toby, "...I'm gonna hit him!" Thomas sighed. "Okay, let's go." Later that day, the engines left Sir Topham Hatt with'' two ''big branches lying on his head. He woke up with a start. He got up and stumbled all around the yard. He walked up to Tidmouth Sheds and looked inside. He found only Lady and Mavis sleeping there. The engines 1-7 saw everything. "There, see?" said Thomas, "Good as new. I'll tell ya, this 'being in charge' thing isn't so hard